TMZ.com Home

Brittany Cartwright's not closing the door on reuniting with estranged husband Jax Taylor ... but, she has to see serious changes before reconciliation can truly begin.

We caught up with Brittany out in Los Angeles on Friday ... and we asked her all about her split with her husband of almost five years -- specifically asking if the couple's taking any steps to mend fences.

Cartwright says Jax hasn't made much of an effort to work things out ... adding she's asked Taylor to hit some relationship benchmarks, but nothing's happened yet.

Despite Brittany saying there is a lack of movement on Jax's front, she says she's not giving up on her man yet ... seriously hoping to get back together eventually.

She's also confronting rumors that this separation is a publicity stunt head-on ... saying there's no truth to that online gossip.

Brittany alludes to a ton of fighting between her and Jax as well ... adding both she and the couple's son -- 2-year-old son Cruz -- deserve better.

Romantic issues aside ... Brittany says she and Jax still plan on working together --  cohosting their podcast 'When Reality Hits' and even filming their "Vanderpump Rules" spin-off "The Valley" while dealing with their issues.

We broke the story ... even though Jax claimed the couple was still living together through their separation, sources with direct knowledge told us that just wasn't the case -- and pics of her moving out provided further confirmation.

All this came after Brittany announced the news on an episode of their podcast earlier this week ... seemingly bringing an end to a relationship that began almost a decade ago.

Austin Butler's a new face to 'Dune,' but the dude's already got reason to celebrate ... 'cause his movie's expected to make big money at the box office this weekend.

According to Deadline ... "Dune: Part 2" is the year's first big blockbuster hit -- with projections coming out that the flick's gonna take home $76 million domestically.

This is a shade under-reported industry expectations of $80 million ... but compared to the $41 million opening the movie's predecessor picked up, $76 million is a boon.

BTW ... 'Dune 2' isn't facing any stiff competition for the top box office spot -- with no major releases risking facing down the sci-fi heavyweight, the "Bob Marley: One Love" biopic that came out weeks ago is currently expected to finish second.

Tons of people are excited about the new movie coming out clearly ... and, it may have something to do with stars like Butler who've taken on key roles in the second movie.

Among the newcomers joining 'Dune' veterans like Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya ... Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux and more.

Cast members have gotten fans excited by their frequent event appearances in the promotional lead-up to the release ... with Zendaya particularly exciting audiences, especially in her revealing chrome body suit.

Jenelle Evans is still reeling from an attempted break-in that took place just days ago ... and it's easy to see why -- 'cause the scary scene was captured on video.

The "Teen Mom 2" star took to TikTok on Saturday to share surveillance footage from her property ... giving fans a first-hand look at the incident she's recently been describing.

Jenelle started out her video by asking people on social media to help her identify the person who trespassed on her property, sorta walking aimlessly around the expansive estate.

She began to recap the situation for fans ... before letting the security clip do much of the talking for her -- showing a man walk right up to her house at just after 1 AM.

The man, clad in a bright orange jacket, started banging on Jenelle's laundry room door before pulling a sliding glass door off its hinges, according to Evans -- before walking out to Evans' "she shed" where the video picks back up

Though it's hard to see exactly what's happening, it certainly sounds like the man's rustling with something metal -- possibly a door or lock -- before Jenelle says she hopped out on her front porch and started yelling the Spanish word for police.

Instead of scaring the man, it seems Jenelle just deterred him ... 'cause he starts walking calmly away from the shed -- apologizing but moving at his own pace.

Jenelle says she's terrified since this person hasn't been caught -- and she's even claiming she's dealing with PTSD in the aftermath of the incident.

Remember ... Evans told us in a statement through her manager that the police were looking into the incident, but she and her kids were still shaken up. She's since slowly revealed more details about the break-in attempt -- but this is the first time she's dropped footage.

Video from a high school fundraiser of students licking toes has gone viral online ... and it's got parents up in arms while an investigation seems to be startin' up.

Here's the deal ... during a fundraiser earlier this week at Deer Creek High School in Oklahoma, several students appeared to get on their stomachs and lick peanut butter off the toes of other students.

Check out the vid, originally obtained by Fox 25 ... it's pretty gross stuff -- some kids are down on the basketball court while others are laid back, kicking their feet up and letting them lick away.

The whole video's caused a firestorm online ... with tons of people on social media calling out organizers for allowing a stunt like this to go down in the first place.

Among those upset X users ... Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters who posted a tweet letting his followers know his agency would be investigating exactly what went down.

Deer Creek High isn't copping to any wrongdoing here BTW ... saying in a statement that all the students volunteered to do this and no faculty or staff members were involved in this particular game.

The school also pointed to the more than $150k they say they raised for a local charity ... seemingly saying the money's a damn good reason to move past the controversial games played.

An anonymous statement from a parent whose child goes to the school to FOX 25 sums it up well ... with the parent saying the money's great, but the school needs to admit this probably wasn't the best way to go about it.

Elle King is back to performing live, getting on a stage in Arizona ... her first time since her "hammered" debacle at the Grand Ole Opry during a night celebrating Dolly Parton's birthday.

TMZ obtained this footage of Elle's show Friday night in Tempe, AZ ... where she was one of the singers playing the Extra Innings Festival.

Fans noticed the country singer kept a bottled water within arms reach all night ... and took several swigs of it during her set.

It's a total 180 from when Elle was last seen at the Opry in Nashville back in late January. She was admittedly drunk as she forgot the words to one of Dolly's tunes -- which wouldn't be the worst thing ever, but she followed that up by making up jibberish lyrics and berating the audience.

After one tune, she barked at the crowd, "I'm not even gonna f***ing lie … y'all bought tickets for this s***, you ain't getting your money back."

Days after that s***show, she abruptly postponed her next scheduled gig in Texas, but never provided any reason. She's been out of the public eye since then.

Elle was shown a ton of grace by Dolly herself, who told Extra ... Elle is a great girl who just had a bit too much to drink. She also urged fans to "forgive that and forget it and move on, 'cause [Elle] felt worse than anyone ever could."

We're told Elle did not make any reference to the Dolly disaster during her show Friday night ... however she did sing songs about boozing -- like "Chain Smokin', Hard Drinkin' Woman" and "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" -- she's a country singer, after all.

That being said, she kept it sober on stage, and by all counts sounded great.

Rihanna's absolutely glowing and grinning after her killer set at a wedding party thrown by the richest man in Asia -- and she even left the gig with some parting gifts to go along with an astronomical payday.

RiRi strolled through the Jamnagar Airport in Western India Saturday, and was clearly feeling pretty good about her performance. As we reported, she was hired to play the pre-wedding party for the son of Mukesh Ambani, the industrialist worth $112 billion.

By all accounts, he got his money's worth -- Rihanna reportedly played 17 songs on a stage fit for one of her stadium tours with all the lighting and special effects popping off around her as she belted out hits like "We Found Love" and "B**** Better Have My Money."

Hell, it might actually be a set from one of her previous concerts, judging by the massive crates of equipment she arrived with when she touched down in India.

The 1,200 friends and family of Anant Ambani and his bride-to-be Radhika Merchant didn't want to miss a second of the show as they had their phones out, recording the singer's stunning set.

BTW, the guests included scores of VIPs from around the world, including Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan, Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

As Rihanna made her way through the airport Saturday morning, she was carrying a giant box or bag that had "THANK YOU" printed on it.

Not that we've been in that situation, but we're guessing when you attend a party thrown by the 11th richest man in the world, everyone -- even the headliner -- leaves with a badass swag bag.

The real reason for her smile, though, is probably the direct deposit hitting her account -- she was reportedly paid $6 million for the one-night gig ... but, because the show was so long, there's speculation she even got up to 8 figures!

Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori is, for once, leaving a lot to the imagination -- instead of flashing her anatomy in see-through clothing, she's almost fully covered up as they bolt outta Paris.

Bianca and her hubby left the Ritz Paris on Saturday, and it's a completely different, and conservative, look for her ... compared to the eye-popping 'fits she's been rocking all week for Paris Fashion Week.

The pics make it clear, Bianca's dressing more comfortably for their flight out of France -- she was wearing a pair of black tights with a long-sleeved purple sweater, high heels, and her hair pulled back.

No face mask for Kanye this time ... but he did pull his hoodie tight over his head to almost fully cover his face.

Bianca's barely-there fashion choices have been the talk of Paris ... as she's shown off most of her body with a super revealing wardrobe.

Bianca was photographed in a sheer black mini-dress with her boobs in full view as she stepped out of a restaurant ... and sheer tights had her flashing her vagina and her butt more than once.

As we told you, Bianca's father reportedly wants a word with Kanye about how he's the racy wardrobe choices he's presumably making for the missus.

Here's a rare sight these days ... Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky hitting the town together -- but it's not a sign they've smoothed out their marital issues, it's just that they're great parents.

The separated couple publicly reunited in Bel Air to celebrate their daughter Portia's 16th birthday. The fam left a restaurant together Thursday night -- Mauricio was carrying what seemed like a gift or cake box ... and they even drove home together.

Kyle was behind the wheel of their SUV, and Mauricio rode in the passenger seat. It's the first time we've seen them out together in a long time ... amid what's been a very public separation, which they announced last summer.

Since the new season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" started airing, we've seen Kyle draw a line in the sand ... hinting on the show that their 27-year marriage might be coming to an end.

In one scene, she told Dorit Kemsley, "If there's no effort, we're not going to end up together."

While Mauricio and Kyle are still living under the same roof, Kyle's been hanging with Morgan Wade, who she insists is just a friend -- and we've seen Mauricio partying hard in Aspen with other women.

The couple went public with their separation in July 2023, but since then they've been on vacay a couple of times together as a family -- including a holiday trip to Aspen ... shortly after Mauricio's wild night out there.

Brian Austin Green is officially weighing in on Chelsea Blackwell comparing herself to Megan Fox in the "Love Is Blind" pods -- and even he's cringing over the situation.

We got the "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum at Bristol Farms in Woodland Hills, and the 50-year-old actor told TMZ it wasn't wise of Chelsea to compare herself to his ex-wife. He candidly shared, "It seems like you're opening yourself up to criticism."

ICYMI ... when discussing their physical appearance while on the sight-unseen dating show -- Chelsea informed her future fiancé, Jimmy Presnell, she had previously been compared to the "Jennifer's Body" star.

Infamously, Jimmy did not agree with the comparison upon their first meeting out of the pods.

On whether he feels the comparison has any merit ... Brian told us it was tough to say -- since Megan is a "one-of-a-kind beauty," and "possibly the most beautiful woman in the world."

Brian and Megan were married for 11 years between 2010 and 2021, welcoming 3 children together. He is now engaged to "Dancing With the Stars" alum Sharna Burgess, with whom he shares a son, Zane Walker.

Still, Brian thinks critics should give Chelsea a break, especially since MF won't care one iota about the remark. In fact, the "Anger Management" star told us, "I think Megan would be flattered."

Brian, who just launched a free social media app on the Apple Store called Moviac, encouraged Chelsea not to listen to the haters, which is certainly easier said than done.

Comedian David Koechner's standup comedy act is smoking these days as some fans in Maryland discovered when he tried to catch a cannabis high on stage ... courtesy of an audience member, no less!

David hit the stage Friday night at Magooby's Joke House in Timonium, Maryland, where he performed for about an hour to a packed crowd, which included at least one fan who was puffing on a weed pen ... something Dave noticed from the stage.

Thirty minutes into his show, he must've caught a whiff of the sinsemilla, and decided to apply the golden rule -- sharing is caring!

Check out this video obtained by TMZ ... Dave looked out into the sea of people and asked, "Who is smoking? Is that weed?"

The man responded, "Yes" .... and motioning with his hand, David replied, "Give here."

The dude walked up to the stage and handed the vape to Dave, who started bantering with his fans as they egged him on to take a few tokes.

Dave finally caved and took two huge drags, blowing out the smoke. Of course, we can't tell from the video it really was marijuana ... but everyone in the crowd seemed convinced.

Assuming it was, it's NBD in Maryland ... where recreational cannabis was legalized last year.

We're not so sure puffing indoors at a comedy club is kosher -- but there were no narcs in the crowd, as David's show continued ... and, we're told everyone had a damn good time.

He's currently on a national comedy tour called "Blue Skies And Dirty Lies" -- and he's probably best known for his role as sportscaster Champ Kind in the 'Anchorman' movies.

You might recall in 2022 ... David was busted for driving while under the influence of alcohol in Ohio, receiving a ticket for the offense. He was also arrested and charged with DUI and hit and run in California's Ventura County on New Year's Eve 2021.

Bill Maher was HYSTERICAL Friday night, with a message to Joe Biden ... embrace your old fart self!!!

The 'Real Time' host made a barrage of solid points, in particular -- When the Prez says he's sharper than ever, no one's buyin' what he's selling.

Or, as BM says, Joe's so old his bad kid with a drug problem is 54!

So, Bill says he should stop riding bikes and hopping on TikTok. Hillary tried it and it didn't work for her.  BTW, thanks for the shout-out, Bill!

Fact is, old people vote way more than the youngins. So appeal to the "Matlock" crowd and advertise on CBS.

And then ... Bill had a brainstorm for Thursday's State of the Union, and it's genius. Biden should appear before the joint session of Congress ambling up to the stage with a walker.

Alexis Bellino ended up needing Dr. Terry Dubrow's expert help when a piercing left her with a nasty infection ... TMZ has learned.

Alexis tells us her cartilage ear piercing had been giving her grief since she got it a year ago ... but it wasn't until a hairdresser accidentally bumped into it last Thursday that she really felt the agony. Ouch!

She says her hairdresser notified her that the earring was deeply embedded in her ear, and the skin around it was clearly infected and overgrown. Alexis didn't waste any time and dashed straight to urgent care to get it sorted out. Smart move!

However, when docs busted out the scalpel, Alexis told them to hold up ... 'cause the only person she'd trust near her ear was Terry. Of course, the "Botched" star's wife, Heather Dubrow is Alexis' costar on 'RHOC,' so it's all about keeping it all in the Bravo family.

The big removal went down Monday, and Dr. Dubrow, being the champ he is, even skipped his lunch break to help her out.

We're told he managed to pull out Alexis' earring, which was decked out with four diamonds, without having to make any incisions. Now that takes some serious skill.

For his part, Terry tells TMZ he's glad Alexis came to him for help ... especially 'cause messing with infected cartilage in your ear is like playing with fire. He explains to us the area doesn't have much blood flow, so if things go south, it can result in seriously gnarly infections that can straight-up wreck your ear, or even worse. Yeah, no thanks!

Alexis is showering Terry with gratitude ... telling us he's a top-notch surgeon and a super kind friend. She's also raving about how Terry squeezed her into his busy schedule ASAP and made sure the whole ordeal was as painless as possible. Now that's the definition of having a true friend in high places!

The new Diddy lawsuit is as salacious as it gets, and speaking of ... Leah McSweeney went ham on Andy Cohen. So we gotta ask ...

The wife of late actor-comedian Richard Lewis is breaking her silence and giving thanks to his flood of supporters and well-wishers.

Joyce Lapinsky posted a message on X, showing her gratitude to everyone who sent in "loving tributes" after Richard passed away this week at his L.A. home. On Friday, she said Richard would have been "beyond thrilled and so touched, as am I."

Joyce asked Richard's fans who want to make donations in his memory to send their money to the charity, Comedy Gives Back, or another non-profit of their choice.

As we reported ... The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star died Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack. Music icon Bette Midler was one of the first people to go on social media to celebrate Richard's life and career. This was followed by a stream of other celebs, such as Ben Stiller, Albert Brooks and his 'Curb' costar Larry David.

Last year, Richard announced he was suffering from Parkinson's disease after he retired from doing stand-up comedy. He said his litany of other health issues culminated in his Parkinson's diagnosis and he was managing it all with medication.

NASCAR star Kyle Busch is giving credit where it's due ... telling TMZ Sports he can only applaud his wife, Samantha, for ruthlessly trolling him over "inches" last week.

In case you missed it -- one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history went down in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday ... with Busch, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney being neck and neck (and neck) right up until the checkered flag.

The 2015 and 2019 Cup Series champion addressed his third-place finish after the race -- going to Instagram and admitting he "Needed a couple inches📏" in order to come out on top ... to which Samantha hit him with a sick burn.

"I’ve been telling you that for almost 20 years 😜" Sam wrote in the comments.

OUCH!!!

We caught up with Busch this week and asked about his wife's friendly jab ... and even he's admitting she got him good.

"I think I left the door wide open for those sorts of comments with how I scripted my text underneath my post, so she played that well."

As for the actual race, Busch broke down the "chess game" he was trying to execute in the final laps ... and how Suarez was able to use his own strategy against him.

But, all things considered, the driver of the No. 8 car said he was able to keep his composure in the end (per usual) ... and is thrilled they were all able to cross the finish line without crashing.

Leave it to "Selling Sunset's" Chrishell Stause, Chelsea Lazkani and Emma Hernan to bring looks and luxury to Sunset Boulevard, but now it's on you to negotiate between the two images and see if you can outbid the discreet changes.

Struttin' in stilettos ... the terrific trio showed up to The Oppenheim Group office earlier this week with the purpose of selling and cashing in ... cha-ching! Yes, these ladies know real estate, but they also know fashion ... especially tops and ear candy 😜 !

Can you close the deal?!